The university in Peterborough will construct a multi-million dollar high-tech extended reality center that will imitate challenging workplaces for training.
On the ground floor of ARU Peterborough’s Innovation and Research Centre, construction on an eXtended Reality Peterborough (XRP) is already underway.
At the university’s site off Bishop’s Road, it will provide cutting-edge teaching and training facilities for ARU Peterborough students and employers.
For immersive experiences, XR technology mixes parts of the real and virtual worlds.
Students and workers will be able to take part actively in virtual workplace settings including hospital wards, industries, labs, or workshops.
Modern specialized technology enables people to practice, repeat, and improve methods and skills in a secure setting.
One of the technology suppliers, Igloo Vision, touts its expansive immersive rooms as “like stepping inside a giant VR headset.”
Morgan Sindall Group subsidiary Overbury is handling the XRP center’s fit-out.
“The use of extended reality will continue to grow across different sectors and settings, and we have been quick to adopt this technology, particularly around health education,” said Professor Ross Renton, principal of ARU Peterborough.
The opening of XRP eXtended Reality Peterborough will give students access to some of the best educational facilities in the nation. Local businesses and organizations will also greatly benefit from the training options it provides.
“Extended or virtual reality is taking the world by storm, and many sectors are looking at how they can use it to develop working practices and improve the services they can offer,” said Councillor Lynne Ayres, Cabinet Member for Skills, Further and Higher Education and University for Peterborough City Council.
“ARU Peterborough deserves enormous credit for being at the cutting edge of this technology and allowing students the chance to participate in working world simulations as part of their studies.
It’s quite exciting and serves as another excellent illustration of Peterborough’s leadership.
Al Kingsley, the Business Board’s chair, declared: “Investing is essential to maintain Cambridgeshire and Peterborough’s high-performing, internationally competitive, and innovative economy.
“One of the ways to do that is to make sure that business and education are supported in continuing to be at the forefront of knowledge and investigation that will enable our regional economy to adapt to changing circumstances.
“XR already has a wide range of uses and great promise.
“We invested in this outstanding new Innovation and Research Center to bring precisely these technologies and opportunities to the campus and city for education and local business.”
“Creating a Center of Excellence in some of the most significant and cutting-edge technologies of the 21st century is another fantastic step forward for ARU Peterborough and for the city as a whole,” said Dr. Nik Johnson, mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
The goal of the university has always been to combine higher education with a strong focus on employment with areas for creativity, research, and development that will help the local economy and other businesses.
The Combined Authority Business Board’s Get Building Fund provided £13.78 million to build the three-story Innovation and Research Centre.
Advanced conversations are being held in order to construct a high-performing research unit on the first floor, and space is now being advertised.
